First off let me start off by apologizing if this blog offends anyone. If you feel like you are easily offended , please do not read. Other than that, you have been warned. I decided to write this post in response to a Facebook post I saw just moments ago (I plan to keep this short and to the point). While being respectful I will keep the names of the fire department and station private. But it is on Facebook, so how much privacy is there really? So what I saw was a fire station looking for ideas to replace their traditional “Wetting down ceremony” of their new apparatus . The reason they were looking for new ideas was, they were told that promoting a Wetting down ceremony was a violation of church and state. Correct me if I’m wrong , It states that a Separation of Church and State is the distance in the relationship of organized religion and the nation state. How in the crap is promoting or participating in a wetting down ceremony a organized religion??? It”s no different from our own government smashing a champagne bottle across the bow of a new war ship. Its the same thing and still is a common practice with our government.

Has today fire service changed so much that people forgot where they came from? As soon as they get into an administrative role it sucks the life and common sense out of them. Firefighters need to stand up for them selves and their rights. In the world of budget cuts, budget short falls , and administrative pay increases. Tradition is all we have left to keep the brotherhood! Now they are trying to take that away from all of us. No matter if you are Union or not, we all need to stick together. Do not forget where you came from!!

Note: Wetting down a new fire apparatus started many years ago. It is a way christening a new apparatus very much like the government does to its Navy ships. To learn more about how wetting down the new apparatus got started, I suggest you do some research ( I do not give out free history lessons, you have to work to get something you want). By doing so, you can learn for your self and pass it down to the ones beside, below, and above you.

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5 Comments

I swear sometimes what people try to do int the name of “political correctness” makes my sick! I have NEVER heard of a new rig not getting a wet-down. I thought that tradition was one of the biggest parts of our profession. If we have sunk so low as to forget our history then as upsetting as it makes me to say it, then I am glad I am retired!

I am one of those administration folks that is trying to keep what common sense and life I have left. I agree with everything you say. Fire Department across the country are built on traditions…one tradition I saw go away was pushing in a new rig in the station by firefighters instead of backing in under its own power because they were worried of hurting someone. Give me a break.

Now days you can be suspended or terminated for putting water in a Probie’s boots. No more teasing the new kids? get real. If you are upset cause your feet got wet, and everyone laughed at you, then perhaps the Fire Service is not for you, pack up your panties and go to the police Department, they will welcome you.
And I agree with the statement about when a good firefighter becomes Top Staff, their brains and common sense are suck out of them. I’ve seen many a good leader, now riding a desk, who has forgotten from where he came, it’s a dam shame.

Thats why last November I gave a one hour presentation to our explorers about the history and traditions of the Fire Dept. It seems that when you join a fire department today, you are trained on SOP’s and firefighting practices. You are trained on the use of all the equiptment BUT no one mentions history or tradition. Its a shame.

It is a shame! Tradition and knowing where you came from is as important as training. It brings a sense of pride that you carry on. I gave a class on tradition to our explorers, because I thought it was important. They have to know where the fire service came from and it’s beginnings!!

William SmithIn God We Trust ?I'm with the Mayor, if other people don't like it, then they are welcome to leave and go to a country where they are told how to worship and who to worship to. Me, I'm proud of "the American way" and I'm not afraid to say it. GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!
2015-12-19 02:25:54

Mike ClarkIn God We Trust ?The founders of our great country, many of which came to the "new world" seeking freedom to practice the religion of their choice realized the importance it allowed. This is addressed in Article I of the US Constitution. Katy City's police Chief stated - "its not about religion, everyone has a God, they just have…
2015-12-18 22:47:10

sandra warnerIn God We Trust ?I see nothing at all wrong with this as God is protecting this men and women for the job that they do for us from saveing a cat to delivering a baby and don't we all trust in God?
2015-12-15 14:43:45

ScotIn God We Trust ?Good job! More elected officials should be as open minded.
2015-12-15 14:39:18

Harry FairHarness Induced PathologyThis can be a problem in caving (spelunking) incidents with hypothermia as a complicating factor. Thanks for making a great, yet brief, exposition of the problem which is not widely enough known.
2015-12-02 15:30:50